ANDROS: DON’T PAINT US AS VILLAINS.. SEE THE WORK WE ALL DO, MR HANCOCK

ANDROS TOWNSEND has hit back at Health Secretary Matt Hancock, saying: Don’t paint footballers as villains.

Hancock piled the pressure on the Premier League’s multimillionaire players on Thursday by demanding they “take a pay cut and play their part”.

But Crystal Palace winger Townsend (above) defended his fellow footballers and accused Hancock of deflecting blame from the Government response to coronavirus.

He said: “The

Health

Secretary is d2edfloecting blame on to footballers and

I don’t think that is right.

His job is to take responsibility for

NHS workers.

“He is coming out and deflecting on to the easy targets, the footballers, and that doesn’t sit right with me.

“Football is trying to do a lot of good. To see footballers being painted as villains was a bit of a surprise, to be honest.

“I have never been more proud to be a footballer. Since this crisis started, to see the work that the players and clubs have done in the community...

“At Palace, we have helped out the homeless, donated to local charities. Individual players are thinking about ways in which they can help.

“I’m involved in a campaign, Football United, raising money for the National Emergencies Trust. Marcus Rashford has helped feed over 400,000 school children in Manchester.”

With the Professional Footballers’ Association locked in talks about possible wage cuts or deferrals, Townsend, 28, claims players agree it is time they contributed.

But he insists it must be done in the right way – and that players should NOT be asked to pay the wages of other staff by rich clubs who can afford to do so themselves.

Townsend added: “We do have a responsibility, but we are giving back to the community and rightly so. We are in a very privileged position.

“The community effectively pays our wages. At a time like this, we need to give back.

“If the players end up agreeing to a pay cut or deferral, and a few days later the PFA find out that these clubs can continue to pay non-playing staff and are choosing not to, then who benefits?

“The NHS are not benefiting, these heroes are not benefiting. If the clubs can continue to pay them, and are choosing not to, then it is only those clubs that are benefiting.

“The PFA is doing its job, they are making sure that these clubs can continue to pay non-playing staff before any decision is made.”